Ethics in E-mail Communication and Internet - Article Example

E-mail and Ethics Introduction The advancement in communication with the use of computers and internet is one of the most essential accomplishments. In today’s world of communication, e-mail and instant messages have become the most popular mode of communication. This is the latest universal communication tool and is accepted as an everyday necessity in the same way as postal and telephone services. By defenition, the electronic mail is the exchange of messages stored typed and stored in the computer between two or more individuals using telecommunication. E-mail messages are in general encoded in ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) text. It is not necessary to use only ASCII text but non-text files, such as visual images with or without sound files, scanned photographs, also can be sent through emails as attachments in binary streams (TechTarget, 2007; Charity Days, N.D.). If we take into consideration all the internet activities, it can be noted that a large proportion of the total traffic over the Internet is e-mail. Today, it is the most common and popular mode of communication among the public, private and government organizations. If we look at the global gorwth of electronic mails, it can be said that there continues to be a spectacular global growth of electronic mail both in terms of messages communicated and people using such facilities. In fact today there are people who unless they have e-mail facilities and knowledge to use internet don’t get jobs. Emails are much like many other forms of communication like phone calls, business letters, face to face conversations, and memos. The main advantage with emails is that it requires no face-to-face interaction, no voice-to-voice and no formal structures that exist for letters is required for interaction. When compared to usual postal mail, e-mail offers speed of delivery, permanent storage, and easy replication. Since email is electronic mail, the fact remains that email are recorded and saved, and they can be replicated legally or illegally. In any situations whether it is business, job or personal life, ethics can only help us to succeed. It involves mutual understanding to live and work together. It is also a method to predict the behavior of people, businesses, government and organizations (Woodbury, 1998). Unfortunately quick and tough rules that make email communication safe and easy do not exist. For instance, if private comments get passed on to unintended recipients like the manager of an institution it may even be a threat to once job. And imagine a situation if the personal life notes especially to friends, family member, or forwarded jokes, and comments are received during the work time, and if it occurs when the receiver of the message is under the supervision of a manager or higher authorities it could be very embarrassing. Hence in such situations and many others the email ethics becomes quit important. The system of right and wrong which forms the foundation of a civil society is termed as ethics. However, when a new technology arrives, explicitly extending the ethical code seems necessary that help to explore the system completely. And so the same thing is with internet email systems. If we have to define or draw a circle of email ethics, it would include every thing that is similar to life. For instance, whatever is considered as unethical in life is also unethical in email. For instance, presenting a false image of someone is unethical, so is it if it is done through email. However a clear cut definition of ethical issues concerned in managing and developing information technology are several, and they are more and more complicated as the power of individuals and infrastructures increases. The most important definition of ethics presented in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary says, "The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation." (CIS3090, 2003) One of the secondary definitions says, "The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group." (Institute of Supply Management, 2005) Freedom from intrusion, control of personal information and freedom from surveillance are the three issues that control a discussion of privacy. Freedom from intrusion is a concept of privacy. It simply means that every individual have the right to be left alone. The most important question that arises while using emails is who control this personal information? In the past fifty years of information technology boom, it has become highly impossible to know where all the personal information of an individual resides. Tremendous amount of information about an individual can be found in different places. Besides, individuals have a right to take up there personal activities free from surveillance or fear of surveillance and this is another privacy issue. However, the fact is that there are so many types of surveillance today and it is highly impossible to avoid them all. When we discuss the ethical issues of privacy in the information age, the most important question that arises in our minds is- is privacy possible? Encrypting information is a very old practice. Electronic communication are often encrypt today because of the increase of identity theft and other information-based crimes. Encryption is a way to guard privacy. Individuals in an organization do not have enough control on the information that they pass on to others through an email. A bill was drafted in 1991 by the US congress which stated that telecommunications providers need to make sure that the government could get unencrypted forms of all information that are transmitted over their channels. Though that bill did not pass, today due to several security threats, the US government has the ability to intercept, access, and read or hear the content of most communication (Pollice, 2006). Imagine if one government can do this, can other in all probability less scrupulous parties do the same thing? Yes, it is possible. In many cases the combination of professional and personal life recalls another significant characteristic of emails. In an organization often an employer owns part or all of the structure that makes organizational e-mail function. Norman Shapiro and Robert Anderson wrote about ethics and etiquette of e-mail, they stated that there exist competing interests of "an organizations desire and ability to filter, channel, record, and control messages" and there exist writers desire to own the message (Soukup, 1997). However, though both these desires exist the organization is having more power. If we have to list out som of the unethical issues related to emails the following are some of the examples: If a person claim not to have read or received a message when they actually have it is an unethical issue. Sharing or passing someone elses email address for harm or faking a mishap is another issue. If a person perposely do not respond to an email after receving, or if a person unethically get access to the password of others and do imschife, forgery is another problem, for instance if a person edit the headers in an excerpted or forwarded message so as to misrepresent the time, date, author, subject or routing of the message, it is an unethical issue (Brenner, 2005). Now the question arises how to control the unethical email problems. Under the 1986 Electronic Communication Privacy Act, the access to mail transmitted over public telephone lines is prohibited, just as post office correspondence is protected. On the other hand, courts have given the power to the private organizations to look at e-mail within their own networks. Many companies claim do this for because to improve customer service, to investigate crime, or to prevent security breaches. The issue of e-mail ownership has other ethical ramifications that might go under the heading of acknowledgment. Who is the true author of a message and how should he or she be acknowledged? When a letter is sent through email, it can pass through several public or private machines before it arrives at its destination. However it is impossible for the receiver or sender to know if it has been accessed by someone else. Besides, provision that allow editing of the "from" line, so the author of a letter can be changed or masked is an advantage. It becomes important that each organization need to develop a policy of attribution, stating clearly how to give credit to work that comes through e-mail. In addition the policy should also include guidelines for the use of anonymity appropriate to the organization (Soukup, 1997). As fare as rules and regulations regarding emails are concern many of them have put forward suggestions regarding how to address e-mail ethics and promote good practice. Virginia Shea an author of the book Netiquette proposes few rules which might encourage a socially responsible e-mail culture. These rules can be summarised as following: Rule No. 1: Remember the Human Rule No. 2: Adhere to the same standards of behaviour on- line that you follow in real life Rule No. 3: Know where you are in cyberspace Rule No. 4: Respect other peoples time and bandwidth Rule No. 5: Make yourself look good on-line Rule No. 6: Share expert knowledge Rule No. 7: Help keep flame wars under control Rule No. 8: Respect other peoples privacy Rule No. 9: Dont abuse your power Rule No. 10: Be forgiving of other peoples mistakes. (Rogerson, 2006) Cees Hamelink, a Dutch communication scholar and past president of the International Association for Mass Communication Research, from human rights theory provides three guiding perspectives: Equality, or in other words nondiscrimination in access and use; Inviolability, or the inadmissibility of intentional harm against humans; and Liberty, or the absence of external coercion or constraints that ob-struct self-determination. According to Hamelink, the Bill of Electronic Rights and Ethics adds rights to communicate, to privacy, and to jurisdiction — that makes an individual to adhere to laws of ones own state. The guiding principles of toleration, trust, and consideration are also added. Hamelinks principle of liberty lays a base for considerations of e-mail censorship. Should a government or an organization limit an individuals self-expression? That same issue appears in the Bill of Electronic Rights in terms of jurisdiction. Should individuals be liable for e-mail materials banned in one location but permitted at their point of origin? The Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 attempted to resolve some of these issues. Several times misunderstandings occur and sometimes lead to angry responses, hurt feelings, and damaged working relationships and it directly relates to the principles of trust and toleration in the Bill of Electronic Rights and Ethics. Hence it becomes important for both senders and recipients to address this issue by writing clearly and rereading before sending. Politeness is another way toward creating a more considerate and more ethical environment. It is also important that the mail recipients should not forward personal e-mail without checking with the sender — who may or may not wish to share the correspondence. In the same way, recipients should not forward public or business e-mail unnecessarily (Soukup, 1997). Instant messaging (IM) like the emails has grown up. Today, IM is becoming a critical tool for business people to communicate more easily, and much, much more quickly. There are several loopholes that must be addressed as this communication medium is adopted into the business setting. In general, the protocols for all communication media are almost common, and hence many of the aspects of instant messaging (IM) use will also follow the norms already in place for email, web conferencing, telephone, and other indirect and electronic forms of communication (Boyd, N.D). While some of the ethical implications of privacy with electronic mail have been identified and explored, the unmanageable communication and therefore information flow will continue to pass and grow through the Internet backbone as a form of popular communication media. On the other hand, the value of, and right to, privacy will continue to compete with other values in our global society within the virtual community. The conflict of old inherent freedoms with postal letters and new emergent technologies such as emails and IM will continue to generate ethical issues for discussion, reflection and action (White, 1994). What ever the consequences are still email continue to get popularity in the field of communication. Today this communication medium has become the most popular medium among children and adults. However it has also become a tool with the antisocial elements in the society to propagate crime. It is important to make a note of such activities. Several millions or even billions of email messages are sent and received around the world daily. Hence criminals and anti-social elements can make use of this like any other form of communication. Emails are the fastest and easiest ways to propagate nasty code over the Internet. For instance, the Love Bug virus was passed on to millions of computers within 36 hours of its release from the Philippines through email. It is a common mischief by Hackers to bind Trojans, viruses, worms and other computer contaminants with e-greeting cards and then email them to innocent persons. Such contaminants can also be bound with software that appears to be an anti-virus patch (Cyber crime, N.D.). Finally, it can be said that rules and regulations make this communication medium more content. Though there is a lack of proper regulation, it is the need of the hour to have good guidelines as email allows individuals and groups to communicate with one another in a much faster way when compared to paper mails. Good rules and regulations can make this medium a good source of communication not only for personal use but also for official purpose. Government and private organizations can use this medium for communication in an ethical manner if proper rules and guidelines are present. Emails are among the fastest way to communicate and hence it is important to be safe. References Boyd, S. (N.D) Enterprise Instant Messaging: Ethics, Etiquette, and Best Practices, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://www.stoweboyd.com/message/files/EIM.pdf Brenner, R. (2005) Email Ethics, Point Lookout, Volume 5, Issue 14, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/050406.shtml CIS3090, (2003) Social and Professional Issues in Computing, Retrieved on 13 April 2007 from http://www.cs.um.edu.mt/~cstaff/courses/lectures/cis3090/1.html Charity Days, (N.D) Support: Technical Help, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://www.charitydays.net/support/general/glossary.shtml Cyber crime, (N.D.) E-mail related crimes, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://cybercrime.planetindia.net/email_crimes.htm Institute of Supply Management, (2005) Principles and Standards of Ethical Supply Management Conduct Retrieved on 13 April 2007 from http://www.ism.ws/tools/content.cfm?ItemNumber=4740&navItemNumber=13255 Pollice, G. (2006) Ethics and software development, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/may06/pollice/ Rogerson, S. (2006) Email Ethics, Originally published as ETHIcol in the IMIS Journal Volume 10 No 1 (Febuary 2000). Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/resources/general/ethicol/Ecv10no1.html Soukup, P. (1997) Ethics@E-Mail: Do New Media Require New Morality? Issues in Ethics - V. 8, N. 2 Spring 1997, The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v8n2/email.html TechTarget, (2007) E-mail, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci212051,00.html White,V.A. (1994) Ethical Implications of Privacy in Electronic Mail, From "Proceedings of Technical Conference on Telecommunications R&D in Massachusetts" University of Massachusetts Lowell, October 25, 1994, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://www.inetcon.com/priv.html Woodbury, M. (1998) Email, Voicemail, and Privacy: What Policy is Ethical? Paper prepared for The Fourth International Conference on Ethical Issues of Information Technology, Erasmus University, The Netherlands, 25 to 27 March, 1998, Retrieved on 7 April 2007 from http://trout.findpage.com/~marsha-w/emailpol.html Read More